NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion University football Monarchs host Howard on Saturday, Sept. 14 in the home opener.

Notes about the Game

• After facing the first two FBS opponents in school history, Old Dominion comes to Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium for the 2013 home opener against Howard.

• Junior Cam Boyd gave the Monarchs a boost off the bench, rushing for a team-best 58 yards and scoring the only TD of the game for ODU. On that scoring drive, Boyd carried the ball seven times for 41 yards.

• Wide receivers Melvin Vaughn and Gerard Shillow caught their first career passes for ODU. Vaughan caught a pass over the middle and broke several tackles before being brought down after a gain of 30 yards.

• For the first time in school history, Old Dominion played its first two games of the season away from home. ODU is 3-1 in home openers, the only loss coming in 2010, a 35-25 setback to Jacksonville.

• Old Dominion is 8-0 against schools from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. ODU has a pair of wins over Savannah State and North Carolina Central and a win over Norfolk State in the 2011 playoffs. ODU is 3-0 against Hampton. This will be ODU's first ever meeting with Howard

• ODU is 38-12 under head coach Bobby Wilder, appearing in the FCS playoffs the only two years they were eligible for a postseason bid.

• After never catching more than six passes in a game, Larry Pinkard caught eight in the opener at ECU and a team-best seven for 96 yards last week at Maryland. Pinkard has just missed a 100-yard receiving game both times.

On the field for the First Time

ODU had 19 players play a collegiate game for the first time last Saturday at East Carolina. Seven more Monarchs saw their first collegiate action in week two at Maryland.